ICT Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo has assured Kenyans that government digital systems remain secure after a cyber attack disrupted the official website of President William Ruto, saying investigators have so far found no evidence that sensitive information was accessed or stolen.
In a statement released on Saturday, July 18, Kabogo said the government detected the cybersecurity incident and immediately activated its response procedures to contain the breach and begin investigations.
He said the ICT Authority restricted access to the Presidential website to allow technical teams to carry out forensic analysis and restoration work.
"As a precautionary measure, access to the Presidential website was temporarily restricted to facilitate containment, forensic analysis and restoration efforts," he said.
Kabogo noted that response measures had already been implemented and efforts to restore the website were progressing.
He maintained that preliminary investigations had not established any unauthorised access to confidential government information.
"At this time, there is no evidence of unauthorised access to sensitive data, data exfiltration, or loss of information," he said.
Kabogo further assured Kenyans that despite the incident, government digital platforms and services remained secure and fully operational.
He added that the ICT Authority was working alongside other government agencies and technical partners to determine how the breach occurred.
"ICT Authority is working closely with the relevant Government agencies and technical partners to conduct a comprehensive forensic investigation and establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident," Kabogo said.
While the ministry confirmed investigations were ongoing, it did not reveal when the cyber attack happened or disclose the method used to breach the website. It also did not state when normal access to the Presidential website would resume.
Earlier on Saturday, the official website, president.go.ke, became unavailable after suspected hackers allegedly took control of the platform, removed its content and replaced it with messages directed at President Ruto and his administration.
The individuals behind the attack demanded five Bitcoins, estimated at about Sh41 million, and threatened to release what they described as classified information unless the payment was made through a cryptocurrency wallet.
"This message is the third time for you; before we leak everything about you. Do a payment of 5 bitcoins to the Bitcoin wallet. If you want peace before 6 o’clock this evening," the message displayed on the website read.
Before issuing the detailed statement, Kabogo had assured the public that the agencies tasked with protecting government websites had already taken charge of the matter.
"The responsible Agencies that protect websites are on top of stuff," the ICT boss responded.
The incident raised fresh concerns among Kenyans over the security of digital government platforms, including eCitizen, the Social Health Authority (SHA) and the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA). However, the ICT Ministry maintained that government systems had not been compromised.
By Saturday afternoon, visitors attempting to access the Presidential website were instead met with a maintenance notice informing them that restoration work was underway.
The cyber incident comes months after several government websites were disrupted in November 2025. At the time, Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo attributed the attack to a group identified as PCP@Kenya and said the government had contained the incident before beginning recovery efforts.
"This is to notify the general public that the situation has been contained and that the Government is monitoring the situation. However, members of the public are advised to take necessary precautions, remain vigilant and report any suspicious cyber threat activity to the National KE-CIRT, NC4 and DCI," the government said.